Ironic
by Jack E. Peace
Summary: Set after Nora gets killed, Kimberly is confused about what drives her to continue to fight the Design, causing Clear to offer her own jaded wisdom.


Disclaimer: Clear and Kimberly don't belong to me, neither do the other characters or events from the two films.   
  
A/N: Set after Nora gets killed in the elevator; Clear and Kimberly talk about life, death and their fears about everything. Please review and enjoy, sorry if it's stupid or sappy or whatever.   
  
"Ironic"  
  
A cool breeze blew against Kimberly Corman's cheeks, uncharacteristic for New York springs, though she didn't think much of it. The breeze was nearly comforting and she wished that she could fold herself up and ignore everything around her, letting only the breeze caress her, know that she was there. Her brunette locks tickled her cheeks, pushed around by the breeze but she ignored that as well, blue eyes staring straight ahead of her, gazing down at the sparkling lights of the city below her.   
  
Kimberly had ventured to the flat roof of Thomas Burke's apartment to get away from everything, the noise, the panic, the pain and fear. She doubted anyone even noticed that she had left, with the chaos that filled the apartment. That was, however, to be expected, however, for another one of the "survivors" of the Highway 23 crash had died, and Eugene Dix had attempted to beat the Design and kill himself, only to learn that it wasn't his time to die. When she had slipped out, she had left Clear Rivers and Thomas to attempt to stop another survivor, Kat, from over-dosing on Valium as she stood in shock, covered with blood.   
  
In a way, Kimberly was thankful that she hadn't been there with Clear and Kat, trying to save Nora Carpenter from getting scratched off Death's design. She had seen her mother and friends die in front of her and witnessed the death of a boy five years younger then she and didn't believe that she could take any more.   
  
As she sat on the edge of the roof, she felt no fear, letting her legs dangle over the side, heels knocking against the concrete. Beneath her, life went on as normal, taxi cabs swerving through the crowded streets; she could faintly hear the voices of people, laughing with their friends, aware that their "number" could soon be up.   
  
For a moment, Kimberly debated slipping off of the ledge, beating Death before it had a chance to kill her, almost wanting to take control of her own life and death. Before she could think anymore on the topic, she heard the door that led to the roof open and close and she turned around, blinking slightly when she was Clear coming toward her.   
  
The blonde stopped a few feet away from the edge, eyeing it warily, silently beckoning Kimberly to join her out of harm's way. "It's not safe up here you know." She remarked, pursing her lips.   
  
For a moment, Kimberly stared at her, noting that she still wore the blood-stained clothes, Nora's blood matted in her hair, on her cheek. "That's what you came up here to tell me?" She asked, sitting still despite Clear's words, knowing that what she said was true.   
  
Clear shook her head, taking a step forward and extending her pale hand to the brunette, who took it after a moment's pause, letting the blonde pull her to her feet. "No, I noticed you were gone and wanted to see how you were." She explained once the two were a safe distance away from the edge. "So, how are you?"   
  
The question was met only with silence as Kimberly stared at her with confused eyes, trying to read the blonde's blank expression. Years of pain and loss had left her jaded to any sort of comfort; she also couldn't tell if Clear's worry was genuine or only forced because someone had sent her to the rooftop. Finally, she saw a twinge of concern hidden in the blonde's blue eyes and forced a sort-of smile, managing to nod once. "For the moment, I guess." Kimberly admitted, feeling as though her mood was about to swing again and she would be back on the edge of the roof, staring down again.   
  
This time, it was Clear who was silent, nodding only once, shifting, evidently unsure of how to continue. She wasn't used to comforting or being comforted, the only people that had ever shown concern for her were now dead. Kimberly stared at her, trying to read anything in her face, and finding it nearly impossible to do so; unable to stand the silence anymore, she opened her mouth to suggest going back instead but the words that tumbled out were not what she had expected. "I was thinking about jumping, you know, ending it all; it really sucks."   
  
Clear nodded again, taking a step forward and ticking her gaze past the brunette's face and staring out at the sky line, the twinkling lights and the world that seemed so far away. "I don't think 'sucks' sums it up, exactly." She said with a slight smile, pushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "It's hard Kimberly but you can't ever give up." She wasn't sure if she really believed those words anymore; she was all too willing to agree when she'd had something to live for but now that Alex was dead she had nothing.   
  
The brunette turned away from her, gazing past the roof as well, fingers tightening around the semi-loose fabric of her jeans. "Clear, I think that's bullshit." Kimberly snapped suddenly, whirling to face her. "How can you say something like that? What do you have to live for, what's keeping you from leaping off this ledge and never looking back? What's keeping me? My mother's dead, or are my friends, what's stopping me?"   
  
Her anger surprised Clear but she wasn't sure why; hadn't she wanted to let Death take her as she stared at Alex's lifeless body? Hadn't she wanted to give up even before then? She didn't know exactly what had forced her to Stonybrook but she knew it had something to do with not letting Death win, of proving that she could beat it, once and for all.   
  
"I can't really tell you Kimberly, but there has to be something, even if the little things...your dad...anything." Those weren't quiet the words Clear had planned on saying but she hoped that was what Kimberly needed to hear at the moment. She knew it was survivor's guilt that was driving her to help the people she had never met, risking her own life; she wanted to do what Alex had tried to do for her and the others, help them beat Death and live the full life they were entitled to live.   
  
Kimberly nodded slowly, frowning when she realized that she hadn't thought of her father before; she knew it would just crush him if he lost her as well, just a year after his wife had been killed. "Right." She muttered to Clear, stepping away from her and standing at the edge of the roof once again, letting the cool breeze push against her skin.   
  
Clear joined her after a moment ticked by, the two women standing shoulder to shoulder silently. The familiar rumbling of a plane caused the blonde to glance up, hair gently whipping against her face. She remembered when she had sat with Alex on the beach the night Miss Lewton and Billy had been killed, listening to him express his fears and attempting to comfort him. Much like she was attempted to do to another "visionary."   
  
"Last year, Alex told me that he believed that the people who died on Flight 180 were still in the sky, somewhere safe. I believed him, because I believe there is that place, where our friends and your friends are safe, where my father is still alive and your mother. Where life continues normally and none of this had ever happened." Clear told her, finally sharing one of the most private moments she'd ever undergone.   
  
Kimberly looked up at her, brow knitting, eyes filled with sorrow. "I wish there was really a place like that, where I had gotten killed instead of my mother and none of this was happening. I wish I could be in the place, driving down Highway 23 with my friends and getting to Daytona." She wasn't sure if she really believed what Clear had said but at the moment, that was all she needed to hear. She had needed to know about a normal life where she still had her parents and her friends...her personal utopia. She didn't say those things to the blonde as she sat down again, legs dangling as they had before.   
  
"Thanks Clear." She mumbled finally, smiling tightly, though the emotion was genuine. "I really needed to hear that."   
  
Clear was silent, smiling slightly as well, gaze skyward again as she stared at the blinking lights of a plane with faceless passengers; in the back of her mind she saw her friends on the plane, laughing and joking as though nothing had ever happened. For a brief moment she wanted to be with them, laughing with Alex, beside him once again.   
  
Kimberly's voice broke her out of her thoughts and she turned to face her once more. "Isn't it ironic that I predicted Death and stopped all those people from dying, only to cause them to die later on?" She really didn't expect an answer from Clear and wasn't surprised by the silence she received.  
  
The blonde sat down beside her, resting her hand sympathetically atop the brunette's, giving her another tight smile. She had often thought those things herself, wondering why Alex and Kimberly had suffered those visions if they weren't meant to stop what was to happen. She was silent however, not voicing these thoughts but instead stared out at the city again.   
  
"Yeah, ironic." 


End file.
